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Vol. 3, No. 48 Issue 152
Horses wounded in unusual shooting
Sharyl Horbal
Two of the Sharyl Horbal�s horses who were let out of their pasture and then shot at with bird shot and a .22 caliber gun on Friday, April 18. Six of the horses are back on the farm recovering, the seventh and her unborn foal were killed.
by Rachel Gold_______________________________
HINCKLEY, Minn. - Horses have escaped before from Sharyl Horbal�s farm, where she lives with her partner Christine Thompson, but never seven at once. Horbal was worried when she found the horses gone on Friday evening, April 18, but horrified when she found her Arabian gelding with bullet wounds in his shoulder. Over the next two days, she found more of her horses wounded, and
one mare killed while giving birth.
According to Pine County Sheriff Steve Haavisto, four of Horbal�s horses had been shot with bird shot and .22 caliber bullets, not the kinds of bullets used to kill large animals. They were found about a mile from their pasture. The police have interviewed a number of people, hut currently have no suspects.
Shooting continued on page 5
Sponsor offers to remove DOMA
The debate in the Minnesota House over the omnibus Health and Human Services bill heated up last night when Rep. Steve Swiggum offered a provision to the bill that would have removed his Defense of Marriage Act amendment. For nearly an hour, legislators debated the DOMA language, which includes a statement against domestic partnership, and Swiggum�s motivation in offering the anti-DOMA provision.
Gay activists following the debate suggested that Swiggum offered the provision knowing that it would not pass and the DOMA legislation would remain, that he hoped to get the House on record as supporting DOMA and to send a clear message to the conference committee.
The provision failed by a 105 to 24 vote.
Opponents of DOMA spoke out strongly in favor of Swiggum�s provision. Rep. Karen Clark reminded the House that it could revoke standing domestic partnership benefits. �This is not the same law that passed federally,� she warned. �This language is much worse.�
Families group creates children�s chorus
by Rachel Gold__________________________________
Rainbow Families, a group for gay and lesbian parents and families, will introduce a new act on the Twin Cities Pride Festival�s Rainbow Stage this year: a children�s choir. Members have been planning since last December to bring together a group of children of gay and lesbian parents who, with the help of director Barb Tilsen, will create and sing a song about their families.
Enough money has been raised to support the chorus through Pride, according to Jerry Terrell of Rainbow Families. Together with a
lesbian couple he is co-parenting a son who will perform in the chorus.
Five-year-old Dylan Leavitt-Phibbs is looking forward to the chorus because, he said, �I like singing and I like my music teacher.� He added that he specifically likes this group because, �my moms are gay and lesbian, and my dads are too... I think it�s fun to play with kids who are just like me.�
He has been to a Pride Festival before and said he looks forward to being on stage there this summer.
Singer/Songwriter Tilsen currently directs two community choruses in the Powderhorn neighborhood, Powderhorn Children�s Chorus, and Soaring Voices Chorus, through which she worked with children from members of Rainbow Families. She has been working with children for year, teaching songwriting through schools and community centers.
Beginning in May, she will meet with the children to practice putting ideas into song and share images and words to use in their song. �The idea is to write about families and the different kinds of families that there are in our country, city and
community,� Tilsen said. �We want to honor and celebrate in particular the gay and lesbian families that are in the community.�
The working title, �Love Makes a Family,� comes from a national photo exhibit and the Rainbow Families theme. In all, the children will sing three or four songs at the festival on Sunday, June 29 following the parade. Sessions begin on May 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Corcoran Park. Rainbow Families has applied for grants to record the children�s song and form a slide show out of pictures they will create while writing the song. For more information call Dean Spencer at 537-6359.
Outwoods eighth annaul open
hnncn � DAftE O
DOMA ad riles readers
Legislation still in limbo
by Rachel Gold_____________________
Gay and lesbian StarTribune readers were shocked and horrified last Wednesday to find themselves faced with a full page advertisement asking the state legislature to pass the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Paid for by the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) Action Fund, the ad tells legislators �your constituents are wondering why you are having so much trouble passing the Minnesota Defense of Marriage act.�
Someone is having trouble passing DOMA, but it�s not the legislature as a body. After Sen. Jane Ranum refused to hear the bill in her Judiciary Committee, Sen. Tom Neuville has tried to amend DOMA to three other pieces of legislation. And on Friday, April 25, members of the House tried twice to amend it to the Omnibus Crime bill.
Asked what prompted the ad, MFC Executive Director Tom Prichard said, �We believe that the legislation would pass overwhelmingly if it was to come up for a straight vote, and yet you have some members of the legislature
who don�t want to allow that to happen. Our view is that the public needs to be aware of what�s going on. The legislators have to know that their constituents know and that was the whole purpose of the ad, to heighten public awareness.�
Prichard does not believe DOMA would create a legal battle, but that failing to pass it might do so if the state fails to recognize a same-sex marriage from another state.
In Neuville�s first two tries, his amendment was voted down, the third, involving a scaled-down version of DOMA that applies only to the tax code, passed out of committee. However, C. Scott Cooper, Gay and Lesbian Community Action Council lobbyist, pointed out that the changes in the tax code will actually give a break to gay and lesbian married couples if same-sex marriages become legal. Neuville�s amendment would force gays and lesbians to file as single, avoiding the extra costs paid by married couples. A similar amendment was not offered to the House version of the tax bill.
DOMA continued on page 5
Movie Guide � PAGE 12
Series �96 donates
nfAPAfiWc � DAAE 1
New facilities reflect diversity of HIV population
by Rachel Gold
U plans gay graduation ceremony
MINNEAPOLIS - There are now nearly 3,500 people in the state known to be living with HIV/AIDS, and statistics say that 28 percent are in unstable housing situations. To address this problem, two new housing facilities for people living with HIV/AIDS are being built in the Twin Cities this spring; while housing specialists work to meet these needs, they are also focusing their attention on under served populations, from Native Americans to people living with mental illness.
�Grace House is currently looking at what the need is in the community,� including marginalized and difficult to serve populations, explained Executive Director Chuck Peterson. �We�re looking at a potential shift from pretty intensive physical care to more emotional care.�
In its seventh year, Grace House has announced the groundbreaking, this July, for a new, four bed facility, Grace House II. Grace House has raised $340,000 toward the new building, which will be open for occupancy by March of 1998, within a total
Perspective plan for Grace House
capital campaign of $1.2 million.
While the population to be served by the new facility has not been selected yet, Peterson explained that the facility�s board has seen a greater need in the HIV/AIDS community for services directed at people affected by mental illness or chemical dependency issues. He explained that those populations need a different kind of care centered on emotional support and management of often complex regimens of medication.
Grace House continued on page 5
by Rachel Gold_______________________
When he came out as a Freshman at St. John�s University, Michael Lane said he was harassed and his dorm
room door vandalized. Now the University of Minnesota Studio Arts Major will be one of the graduating seniors recognized at the GLBT Programs Office�s first ceremony for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.
�It�s very empowering,� Lane said. �For me personally, I�m finally getting the recognition for myself and my work that wasn�t given to me before, and a better sense of self-esteem.�
Lane and others in the student association have been working with the Programs Office to create a graduation and awards ceremony on June 12. In order to participate, students need only to contact the offices with their names and majors, and they will receive a certificate of graduation and a rainbow tassel at the event.
Awards for Excellence in Scholarship and Creativity in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Studies will also be given in both academic and artistic categories, and professors will be awarded for their contributions to students� education. Deadlines for applicants are May 15.
�I think it�s great for queer stu-
dents to be recognized apart from other students, and to have a ceremony that�s meaningful for them,� said Lane. The University graduates its various schools through May and June in large ceremonies of hun-dreds of thousands of students.
�There�s so much research that�s been done on GLBT youth that indicates GLBT youth�s risk,� said Beth Zemsky, Programs Office coordinator, that it�s no small accomplishment for GLBT students to graduate from college.
�Any time one of our students gets a degree its an accomplishment,� she added.
An individual donor made the scholarships, awards and graduation ceremony possible, Zemsky said. A total of $1,800 will be given to students. While she knows of other colleges who have GLBT graduation ceremonies/Zemsky said the whole package with awards and scholarships may be a first nationally.
For more information about the event, contact the Programs Office at 626-2324, email glbt@tc.umn. edu, or visit the web site at www. umn.edu/glbt.

Vol. 3, No. 48 Issue 152
Horses wounded in unusual shooting
Sharyl Horbal
Two of the Sharyl Horbal�s horses who were let out of their pasture and then shot at with bird shot and a .22 caliber gun on Friday, April 18. Six of the horses are back on the farm recovering, the seventh and her unborn foal were killed.
by Rachel Gold_______________________________
HINCKLEY, Minn. - Horses have escaped before from Sharyl Horbal�s farm, where she lives with her partner Christine Thompson, but never seven at once. Horbal was worried when she found the horses gone on Friday evening, April 18, but horrified when she found her Arabian gelding with bullet wounds in his shoulder. Over the next two days, she found more of her horses wounded, and
one mare killed while giving birth.
According to Pine County Sheriff Steve Haavisto, four of Horbal�s horses had been shot with bird shot and .22 caliber bullets, not the kinds of bullets used to kill large animals. They were found about a mile from their pasture. The police have interviewed a number of people, hut currently have no suspects.
Shooting continued on page 5
Sponsor offers to remove DOMA
The debate in the Minnesota House over the omnibus Health and Human Services bill heated up last night when Rep. Steve Swiggum offered a provision to the bill that would have removed his Defense of Marriage Act amendment. For nearly an hour, legislators debated the DOMA language, which includes a statement against domestic partnership, and Swiggum�s motivation in offering the anti-DOMA provision.
Gay activists following the debate suggested that Swiggum offered the provision knowing that it would not pass and the DOMA legislation would remain, that he hoped to get the House on record as supporting DOMA and to send a clear message to the conference committee.
The provision failed by a 105 to 24 vote.
Opponents of DOMA spoke out strongly in favor of Swiggum�s provision. Rep. Karen Clark reminded the House that it could revoke standing domestic partnership benefits. �This is not the same law that passed federally,� she warned. �This language is much worse.�
Families group creates children�s chorus
by Rachel Gold__________________________________
Rainbow Families, a group for gay and lesbian parents and families, will introduce a new act on the Twin Cities Pride Festival�s Rainbow Stage this year: a children�s choir. Members have been planning since last December to bring together a group of children of gay and lesbian parents who, with the help of director Barb Tilsen, will create and sing a song about their families.
Enough money has been raised to support the chorus through Pride, according to Jerry Terrell of Rainbow Families. Together with a
lesbian couple he is co-parenting a son who will perform in the chorus.
Five-year-old Dylan Leavitt-Phibbs is looking forward to the chorus because, he said, �I like singing and I like my music teacher.� He added that he specifically likes this group because, �my moms are gay and lesbian, and my dads are too... I think it�s fun to play with kids who are just like me.�
He has been to a Pride Festival before and said he looks forward to being on stage there this summer.
Singer/Songwriter Tilsen currently directs two community choruses in the Powderhorn neighborhood, Powderhorn Children�s Chorus, and Soaring Voices Chorus, through which she worked with children from members of Rainbow Families. She has been working with children for year, teaching songwriting through schools and community centers.
Beginning in May, she will meet with the children to practice putting ideas into song and share images and words to use in their song. �The idea is to write about families and the different kinds of families that there are in our country, city and
community,� Tilsen said. �We want to honor and celebrate in particular the gay and lesbian families that are in the community.�
The working title, �Love Makes a Family,� comes from a national photo exhibit and the Rainbow Families theme. In all, the children will sing three or four songs at the festival on Sunday, June 29 following the parade. Sessions begin on May 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Corcoran Park. Rainbow Families has applied for grants to record the children�s song and form a slide show out of pictures they will create while writing the song. For more information call Dean Spencer at 537-6359.
Outwoods eighth annaul open
hnncn � DAftE O
DOMA ad riles readers
Legislation still in limbo
by Rachel Gold_____________________
Gay and lesbian StarTribune readers were shocked and horrified last Wednesday to find themselves faced with a full page advertisement asking the state legislature to pass the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Paid for by the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) Action Fund, the ad tells legislators �your constituents are wondering why you are having so much trouble passing the Minnesota Defense of Marriage act.�
Someone is having trouble passing DOMA, but it�s not the legislature as a body. After Sen. Jane Ranum refused to hear the bill in her Judiciary Committee, Sen. Tom Neuville has tried to amend DOMA to three other pieces of legislation. And on Friday, April 25, members of the House tried twice to amend it to the Omnibus Crime bill.
Asked what prompted the ad, MFC Executive Director Tom Prichard said, �We believe that the legislation would pass overwhelmingly if it was to come up for a straight vote, and yet you have some members of the legislature
who don�t want to allow that to happen. Our view is that the public needs to be aware of what�s going on. The legislators have to know that their constituents know and that was the whole purpose of the ad, to heighten public awareness.�
Prichard does not believe DOMA would create a legal battle, but that failing to pass it might do so if the state fails to recognize a same-sex marriage from another state.
In Neuville�s first two tries, his amendment was voted down, the third, involving a scaled-down version of DOMA that applies only to the tax code, passed out of committee. However, C. Scott Cooper, Gay and Lesbian Community Action Council lobbyist, pointed out that the changes in the tax code will actually give a break to gay and lesbian married couples if same-sex marriages become legal. Neuville�s amendment would force gays and lesbians to file as single, avoiding the extra costs paid by married couples. A similar amendment was not offered to the House version of the tax bill.
DOMA continued on page 5
Movie Guide � PAGE 12
Series �96 donates
nfAPAfiWc � DAAE 1
New facilities reflect diversity of HIV population
by Rachel Gold
U plans gay graduation ceremony
MINNEAPOLIS - There are now nearly 3,500 people in the state known to be living with HIV/AIDS, and statistics say that 28 percent are in unstable housing situations. To address this problem, two new housing facilities for people living with HIV/AIDS are being built in the Twin Cities this spring; while housing specialists work to meet these needs, they are also focusing their attention on under served populations, from Native Americans to people living with mental illness.
�Grace House is currently looking at what the need is in the community,� including marginalized and difficult to serve populations, explained Executive Director Chuck Peterson. �We�re looking at a potential shift from pretty intensive physical care to more emotional care.�
In its seventh year, Grace House has announced the groundbreaking, this July, for a new, four bed facility, Grace House II. Grace House has raised $340,000 toward the new building, which will be open for occupancy by March of 1998, within a total
Perspective plan for Grace House
capital campaign of $1.2 million.
While the population to be served by the new facility has not been selected yet, Peterson explained that the facility�s board has seen a greater need in the HIV/AIDS community for services directed at people affected by mental illness or chemical dependency issues. He explained that those populations need a different kind of care centered on emotional support and management of often complex regimens of medication.
Grace House continued on page 5
by Rachel Gold_______________________
When he came out as a Freshman at St. John�s University, Michael Lane said he was harassed and his dorm
room door vandalized. Now the University of Minnesota Studio Arts Major will be one of the graduating seniors recognized at the GLBT Programs Office�s first ceremony for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.
�It�s very empowering,� Lane said. �For me personally, I�m finally getting the recognition for myself and my work that wasn�t given to me before, and a better sense of self-esteem.�
Lane and others in the student association have been working with the Programs Office to create a graduation and awards ceremony on June 12. In order to participate, students need only to contact the offices with their names and majors, and they will receive a certificate of graduation and a rainbow tassel at the event.
Awards for Excellence in Scholarship and Creativity in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Studies will also be given in both academic and artistic categories, and professors will be awarded for their contributions to students� education. Deadlines for applicants are May 15.
�I think it�s great for queer stu-
dents to be recognized apart from other students, and to have a ceremony that�s meaningful for them,� said Lane. The University graduates its various schools through May and June in large ceremonies of hun-dreds of thousands of students.
�There�s so much research that�s been done on GLBT youth that indicates GLBT youth�s risk,� said Beth Zemsky, Programs Office coordinator, that it�s no small accomplishment for GLBT students to graduate from college.
�Any time one of our students gets a degree its an accomplishment,� she added.
An individual donor made the scholarships, awards and graduation ceremony possible, Zemsky said. A total of $1,800 will be given to students. While she knows of other colleges who have GLBT graduation ceremonies/Zemsky said the whole package with awards and scholarships may be a first nationally.
For more information about the event, contact the Programs Office at 626-2324, email glbt@tc.umn. edu, or visit the web site at www. umn.edu/glbt.